Louisa M.
Yelp
De Bijenkorf is a modern, sleek, and all-around pleasant European department store. It's a comfortable place to browse and window shop, and it's an even better place to drop some serious cash if you have a taste for fancy designer goods. I didn't wander in to shop, though. I came in because of a big old rumbly in my tumbly!
On my last day in Amsterdam, I was getting sick of the same old food and was craving a salad. As is the case with most fancy department stores in Europe, this one has a cafeteria on the top floor -- something savvy travelers tend to know. What I didn't expect is that De Bijenkorf has a really great food hall.
The food hall portion of the store is set up like a mini international food court / cafeteria, with Asian specialties, Italian dishes, gourmet sandwiches and salads, and even steaks cooked to order. While the pizza was tempting, I opted for one of the most gorgeous looking vegetable salads I had ever seen (see photos). Hubby got a large portion of Singapore rice noodles with fresh stir fried vegetables (told you we were craving veggies), and we each got a glass of champagne because, well, why the heck not!?!
The food quality was top notch, and prices were reasonable. My salad had pretty artisan greens, large slices of fresh zucchini, plump tomatoes with pepper, and was topped with crunchy pine nuts, balsamic vinegar, and what was in the running for the most delicious fresh cheese ever. We both cleaned our entire plates.
After lunch, we headed downstairs to peruse the designer goods. He was taken with several of the European watch brands and of course I was ga-ga over the limited edition Balenciaga handbag colors that are only available in Europe.
Alas, our empty wallets meant that we left the store with nothing but full bellies.